A/N: Hello anyone and everyone who's reading this! This is my first ever fanfiction so thank you so much for choosing to take a look :) This story follows probably my favourite pairing from HP - Dramione. This is a bit of a slow start but I promise it will pick up. Please review (any feedback is welcome). I really hope you enjoy!
JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and all the characters etc, not me!
It was an exceptionally grim day, in Draco Malfoy's opinion. On the way to school the ground had been damp from the overnight downpour and the sky was the ugly grey that only British skies can attain. The clouds weren't pleasantly fluffy and faultlessly white but distorted, licking at the horizon like wisps of dull, silver flame. Fitting weather for a Monday, Draco concluded.
The skinny, pale, light-blonde haired boy of around sixteen sat in the Physics classroom, ceaselessly staring at the clock. The long fingers of his left hand drummed on his jaw as his head sat in the palm. The other hand twiddled a pen subconsciously. He counted down the minutes until next lesson, stealing glances at his best friend on the other side of the room. Occasionally he would catch his eye and the well-known grimace of Blaise Zabini shot across the class. Then Draco would return to looking at the clock above the teacher's head.
This process had been going on for the majority of the lesson. In fact, Draco was just enjoying the view of seven minutes remaining, when a sharper-than-necessary nudge came from his lab partner. He turned his head slowly, menacingly, in her direction and raised both eyebrows, hissing, "What, Granger?" She didn't reply, unless you count a frustrated huff as a reply. Her eyes trained back onto the teacher, causing Draco's eyes to do the same. A terrifying sight met him.
The physics teacher was glaring down at him, her lips thin and her eyes furious. When she spoke, however, she managed to keep her voice even.
"Well, Draco? Are you contemplating some stunning answer to blow me away or would you like me to repeat the question?" She queried sarcastically. On closer inspection, Draco noted she was shaking very slightly, like the anger was quite literally bouncing around inside her.
"You thought I would actually be listening? Please." He let out a short laugh. He thought he heard another small huff from his neighbour, but ignored it.
"Do not try your cheek with me, Mr. Malfoy. You may think, after five years in this school, that you can bad-mouth any teacher you like, but you are entirely mistaken. You, of all people, have the least authority to do that. You definitely haven't earned it and you most likely never will at the rate you're going." She paused and looked away from the defeated teen, who slouched back in his chair, a scowl interrupting his somewhat handsome features. "This is the year that could determine the rest of your life," she addressed the whole class, "if you choose to act like this buffoon of a boy," she gestured towards Draco "you will have no future. This is the time to get your heads in gear. You may go." As she ended the bell went for change of lesson.
Even as Draco threw his books into his bag he could feel Granger's heated glare on the back of his head.
"Don't you dare even look at me, you bush-headed piece of filth!" Draco spat. Hermione showed no slight indication of having taken offence, no recognition of even being spoken to, actually. She was used to this treatment. She knew exactly how to treat scum like Malfoy in return.
After five years of being known for her brains and books, Hermione Granger had had her fair share of abuse. But, like everything in life, she knew she could learn from it. So instead of going home and crying over it, when the bullies snapped at her, she snapped back. With her witty comebacks and intellectual mind she usually left them wondering what exactly she had called them. All except for one.
In Draco Malfoy, she had found her nemesis.
He was smart, inconceivably smart if you judged by his usual behaviour, and knew just how to get on Hermione's nerves. But, then again, she knew exactly how to get on his nerves too. Their mutual hatred was common knowledge in the year, if not the school. They could interpret each other's moods in an instant. If they didn't hate each other, some would say they knew each other better than their best friends.
So now, she knew it was best for her to completely ignore him. He was angry, humiliated and trying to take it out on somebody. Hermione was a lot of things, but a punch bag was not one of them. Calmly, collectedly, she walked away.
Draco left the classroom into the corridor, fuming. There were bodies everywhere, pushing to get to the stairs, running and ducking in between the crowds, hanging around in the corners. But one stood out to Draco. The mane of curly brown hair bobbed towards two other figures in the mass of students. Boy, did he hate Granger. How dare she ignore him completely? She had no right to act so superiorly, to speak so matter-of-factly, to walk away like she wasn't bothered. Everything about her made him bristle with frustration and hatred.
"No matter how hard you stare, she won't disappear. Sorry to disappoint." Blaise broke him out of his silent rant after following his eyes.
"Yeah, I know." He replied, with a final sigh, before heading off for the changing rooms. Now this was one lesson he liked. Sports.
"'Mione, are you alright?" Harry asked her when she huffed for the thousandth time. Ron looked over as if only just noticing something was wrong.
"Yeah." They both raised an eyebrow. She laughed. They knew her so well. "Malfoy, that's all."
"I will kill him one day." Ron vowed angrily.
"Not if I do it first." Hermione replied darkly. "It might come to that, seeing as I have every lesson with him."
"Except this one, remember." Ron offered helpfully as they arrived at the changing rooms. Hermione just nodded, thinking of the Sports lesson ahead of her.
"It is just rotten luck." Harry said, shaking his head sympathetically. Both the boys waved briefly and then disappeared into the smell of sweat and sound of aggressive shouts. Hermione sighed and entered the other changing room which, fortunately, smelled much less of sweat and was filled only with the overly endearing voices of teenage girls.
Emerging from the changing rooms, clad in the school's compulsory sports gear, Draco Malfoy grinned – an unusual sight, especially when in close proximity to the school building. Almost immediately, he was joined by Blaise, along with two if his other friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. They looked brutish and threatening but were easily outsmarted, seeming to have only one brain between the both of them (perhaps that was why one was never seen without the other). The four of them proceeded towards the sports field, staring down their classmates as they swaggered past.
As he advanced, Draco spotted Potter and the Weasel chatting glumly on a bench. This should be fun, he thought, turning in their direction, flanked by the other three. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were Granger's best friends and almost as insufferable as her, according to Draco. Somehow, though, they managed to be two of the most popular students in the year and, even more infuriatingly, were reasonably good students.
They seemed to notice him coming instinctively, as both had experienced Draco's treatment countless times since their first year. They stood in unison and turned towards him. Potter's green eyes blazed with silent anger, his jet-black hair sticking up as usual. Weasley's freckles clashed brilliantly with the shade of pink his cheeks had turned.
"Shove off, Malfoy," Weasel spat.
"Well, hello to you too, Weasel," Draco replied dryly. "Missing your girlfriend? How is Granger anyway?" Ron's ears went bright red and Harry had to grab his arm to stop him launching himself onto the blonde.
"You – leave – her – alone!" he struggled unsuccessfully.
"What on earth is this?" Hermione cried, standing between Draco and Ron, facing her best friends. "Ron, for goodness sake, calm down!" Ron relaxed and shook himself down, his eyes throwing daggers at Malfoy. Hermione surveyed the situation and then rounded on Malfoy, waiting for an explanation.
"We were just discussing whether Weasel here is ugly enough for you, Granger," he sneered.
"Congratulations," came the calm reply from the brunette, "you have just proved yourself to be a new kind of immature. How pathetic can you get? Listen here, you vile specimen," she held up her finger dangerously close to his face, "you can bully, sneer and humiliate me as much as you want but NEVER" she poked the finger closer to him "come near my friends again." Hermione lowered her hand, fuming, and trying extremely hard not lash out. Draco took a step back and laughed through his nose.
"Come on," he addressed his friends, "let's leave the Tragic Trio to their business." Crabbe and Goyle chuckled and turned away. Blaise waited for Draco to pass him before he turned around, glaring at the girl in the meantime.
The remainder of the lesson was spent jogging around the sports field. From time to time, Draco glared towards the girls' group in a bout of fury. Now and then, Hermione looked over to the boys' group to check on her friends. Miraculously, their eyes never met.
Slowly but surely, the day was becoming torturous. For Draco, the minutes lagged behind more the further he got through the day. It seemed the world was out to get him, or at least Granger was. She was managing to be increasingly irritating today, which was pretty impressive seeing as Draco was always fuming as soon as he saw her. Fate seemed to be dangling him off a cliff, waiting for one last thing to tip him over. Then, in a stuffy maths lesson before lunch, that thing came.
Draco had contracted a severe headache as he ran through the morning's arguments with Granger, completely ignoring the mathematical problems on the board. Another stab of pain shot to his temple as Granger raised her hand and babbled the answer out once again.
"Can she not? I think I'm allergic to know-it-alls." Draco murmured while rubbing his temple. Blaise, who sat in front of him, laughed silently, his shoulders shaking, as two accusing brown eyes shot a disapproving look Draco's way. A knock at the door interrupted these events and the school secretary entered and spoke.
"The headmaster would like to see" she consulted her list, "Draco Malfoy."
Hope you like it so far. Chapter 2 will be up soon, as long as people don't hate it already!